


you drag i light

by girlsonthetv



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, Self-Harm, Smoking, semi-resolved sexual tension, takes place during the five-year timeskip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-12-14 19:30:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21021059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girlsonthetv/pseuds/girlsonthetv
Summary: Dorothea and Edelgard share a cigar after a war council.





	you drag i light

Dorothea can't remember anything that happens during war councils in any great detail, except for trading sympathetic glances with Linhardt whenever he looked like he was going to be sick, which was fairly frequently. Whenever she wasn't looking at him, she was looking at Edelgard, watching her pretty mouth form ugly words about formations and artillery, and waiting for it to be over. Eventually it was, and everyone files out quietly, Ashe mumbling something about making dinner. Dorothea can't bring herself to get up yet, smiles at Linhardt's questioning hand on her shoulder and says she'll be down in a bit. Dragging her body around took energy that she doesn't always have; especially not these days. 

Edelgard stays, too, sitting in her hard little chair at the head of the table like it's the throne in Enbarr. The maps have been cleared away, but she keeps staring at where they were with that same look on her face of working out a puzzle. Hubert lingers, ever her shadow, until she urges him to go enjoy Ashe's cooking, smiles apologetically when she says she'd like to be alone for a minute. Hubert nods and shoots Dorothea a look as he leaves. Dorothea sneers. Nothing gets past Hubert when it comes to his Lady Edelgard, and she knows he knows why she stays behind. It's as endearing as it is obnoxious, how protective he is of her. 

"Dorothea?" 

Dorothea jumps even though she was expecting it, turns to Edelgard at the head of the table. There's a box in her hands about the size of a pen case. Edelgard flips the clasp open and inside is a brown paper cylinder, embossed with a manufacturer's seal. Dorothea knows what it is, even if she's never touched one herself. She remembers the rich men who went to the opera and smoked them outside during the intermission, the smell of them soaking into the walls. 

"Where'd you get that?" She indicates it with a toss of her head. 

"Petra gave it to me when we went to Brigid." Edelgard takes it out of the box, and the way she handles it like a ticking bomb almost makes Dorothea laugh. Then she remembers that fight, and all her humor leaves her; their foes in the trees, everywhere and nowhere at once, the appearance of Thunder Catherine herself. 

"That was nice of her." 

"Indeed it was." Edelgard snaps her fingers and conjures a burst of flame. "I was wondering if you might like to share it with me." 

Dorothea finds it in her to get up - she always can, when Edelgard is involved - and comes to sit up on the table by Edelgard's seat. Edelgard lights it with a steady hand, then offers it to Dorothea first. "Such a gentleman." Dorothea murmurs as she takes it, and Edelgard blushes. Actually blushes - before they had become so close, Dorothea would never have guessed that Edelgard had it in her to blush. She takes a drag and coughs, her eyes watering; Edelgard shifts forward and places a hand on the back of her head. 

"Are you alright?" Edelgard asks, eyes wide, and it's so cute. 

"I'm fine, Edie." Dorothea smiles and offers it to Edelgard. The empress of the Adrestian Empire looks a little unsure as she takes it, and she coughs as well on her first drag. Dorothea puts a hand on her throat, murmurs soothing words as she gets ahold of herself. Edelgard passes it back to her, and a lovely fifteen minutes or so go by like that. They cough less and less as the cigar shrinks, and Dorothea admits it feels nice, relaxation washing over her and making her lazy. "Shouldn't make it a habit, though. It's not good for you." 

"No." Edelgard says, "but every once in a while... I can't imagine doing this by myself, though. It would be awfully dull. If I do this again in the future... I would like it if it was with you." She lowers her face and blushes like the demure noblewoman she most definitely is not, and it's a high better than the smoke to be the one making Edelgard von Hresvelg shy. Dorothea gets off the table and lowers herself slow as syrup into Edelgard's lap, hesitation written over all her movements - is this alright, is this too much, is this crossing a line? The answer to all three seemed to be no, as Edelgard sighs happily when Dorothea sits down. 

"I'm not that heavy, Edie." Dorothea teases, and Edelgard colors brighter as Dorothea takes her drag. "But I agree. Smoking this wouldn't be nearly as nice without you." She gets an idea, and puts the cigar in Edelgard's mouth for her, her fingers to her lips as Edelgard smokes. Dorothea can't help but redden herself; the image lends itself to well to imagining what other things Edelgard could have in her mouth. 

Edelgard was not ready for romance, they both knew that; so it isn't romance, what they have. They go to each other for comfort, and it isn't any more complicated than that. They love each other, dearly, but war is not kind to love, so they keep it close to their chests, put it under lock and key to keep it safe. Even past that, Edelgard's heart is far more damaged than it should be at her tender age, and it will take a long time to heal. Dorothea knows this, she will wait for her as long as it takes, and in the meantime, this arrangement is what works best. Dorothea's lips touch the spot where Edelgard's were, and it's almost like a kiss.

They light fires and pile on blankets, but it's still nearly always cold in the monastery. It can't be helped - the building is old and drafty, largely made of stone. Warmth blooms in Dorothea's chest; there's smoke everywhere and she knows she'll reek of it when they're done, but she doesn't mind all that much, even though it's a bitter, musty smell. It smells like wealth, smells like men who get respect in the capital. Even though she's one of Edelgard's generals, courtiers still whisper about her background, that they heard she had no parents. Dorothea shoves thoughts of them out of her mind as the cigar dwindles down to its last puffs - she doesn't want them to taint this moment with Edelgard. 

"Dorothea." Edelgard sighs when they're done and her voice is rough. She puts out the cigar against the back of her hand in the absence of an ashtray, leaving an angry red burn the size of a coin.

"What is it?" Dorothea asks. She takes Edelgard's hand in hers and brushes her thumb over the wound, healing it with a bit of white magic. She lets go as soon as the spell is finished. 

"...Do you have anything else you need to do this evening?" Edelgard's voice trembles ever so slightly. Dorothea did in fact have something to do, but it was nothing that couldn't wait until the next day. This was far more pressing, anyway, her dearest beneath her, wrapping her arms about her middle and resting her head against her chest. 

"I do not." 

"...Then would you mind staying here a little while longer?" Dorothea looks into Edelgard's eyes and does not see an empress or a formidable commander-in-chief, but a lonely girl. She can't help herself, and strokes her cheek. She's still a lonely girl, too. 

"I wouldn't mind at all." Dorothea stays there in Edelgard's arms until both their bodies are stiff and tingling. Still they stay, as if melded together, until the sun has gone down outside.

**Author's Note:**

> don't smoke kids unless you're a video game character


End file.
